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Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic moved to within one with of capturing their biggest title of the season Saturday when they clawed past Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara 6-4, 6-7(4), 10-6 to reach the championship match at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The Croatians dropped just one set during the round-robin stage and played with confidence throughout the dramatic semi-final clash, crunching returns and dispatching volleys at the crucial moments to earn their 51st tour-level win of season as a team after one hour and 39 minutes.

The fourth seeds fell to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the semi-finals in Turin last year. They will have the chance to gain revenge in Sunday’s final, though, after the American-British tandem downed top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski earlier.

Mektic and Pavic are seeking their sixth tour-level title of the year this week in northern Italy. They triumphed together at an ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, while they also lifted trophies in Geneva, at The Queen’s Club in London, in Eastbourne and Astana.

In a hard-fought clash, Mektic and Pavic were strong on serve, winning 82 per cent (42/51) of points behind their first delivery as they fended off attacking onslaughts from the sixth seeds. They also held their nerve, saving all five break points they faced, before pulling clear in the Match Tie-break to improve to 4-0 in their ATP Head2Head series against Glasspool and Heliovaara.

As Novak Djokovic walked from his locker room towards centre court at the Pala Alpitour on Saturday, the Serbian closed his eyes for a moment. The five-time Nitto ATP Finals winner was in the zone. Call it the champion’s zone.

The 35-year-old found that area of focus when he needed it most in the Turin semi-finals against Taylor Fritz, whom he defeated in two tie-breaks to advance to the championship match at the season finale.

“I was looking forward to being in this position. I'm very happy to be able to compete for another big trophy, one of the biggest ones that we have in our sport,” Djokovic said. “So far a great week for me. Four out of four wins. Of course, the last match of the season, I'm going to give it all. I'm going to obviously try my best.”

Watch Djokovic vs Fritz SF Highlights:

More often than not, Djokovic has discovered his best tennis on the world’s biggest stages under the most pressure. It is a champion’s intangible that the Serbian has relied on in the toughest of moments.

It has been a year of firsts for Taylor Fritz. The American lifted his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells in March and cracked the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in October, before making his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals this week.

Despite suffering semi-final heartbreak against Novak Djokovic in Turin on Saturday, the 25-year-old revealed that he was proud of his season as he reflected on his newfound status in the sport.

“I absolutely feel like I belong,” said World No. 9 Fritz in his post-match press conference. “I think that I've proved that I belong in the Top 10 and I belong here. I just need to keep working hard.

“Fortunately for me, I think there's a lot of positives to take out of this year where I finished. I finished where I did and I missed pretty much the whole clay-court season, didn't have any training going into the beginning of the hard-court season. I was dealing with injuries and I still was able to produce a really solid year. I'm just excited to get back to work and keep improving. Next year [I will] look to cement my spot even more.”

Fritz earned round-robin victories against Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime at the prestigious year-end event, before falling to Djokovic 7-6(5), 7-6(6).

Novak Djokovic passed a stern semi-final test from Taylor Fritz on Saturday at the Nitto ATP Finals, where the Serbian prevailed 7-6(5), 7-6(6) to move within one victory of equalling Roger Federer’s record of six titles at the prestigious season finale.

A spirited showing from Fritz saw the American recover a break deficit in the first set and surge to a 5-3 lead in the second. Despite struggling to consistently find his best level, however, Djokovic found a way to pull through in both tie-breaks as he wrapped a hard-fought one-hour, 54-minute victory at the Pala Alpitour.

“I had to fight to survive,” said Djokovic afterwards. “I didn’t feel very reactive today or very comfortable. I knew coming into today’s match from yesterday’s gruelling battle against [Daniil] Medvedev I knew it would take me some time to adjust and find the dynamic movement I need against Fritz, who is one of the best servers on the Tour."

The seventh-seeded Djokovic delivered a solid rather than spectacular performance against Fritz, hitting just 21 winners to the eighth seed's 31. He was delighted to claim victory in straight sets after his lung-busting three-hour, 11-minute round-robin triumph against Medvedev on Friday afternoon.

“I had to be very patient, I didn’t start the second set very well," said Djokovic. "But I managed to break his serve at 5-4 when he was serving for the set, like when [Daniil] Medvedev was serving for the match yesterday. In those moments I find another gear and managed to hold my nerve and make him play another shot in the tie-break.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury maintained their perfect record at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals Saturday when they overcame top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski 7-6(7), 6-4 to reach the final in Turin.

The American-British team went 3-0 in the round-robin stage and produced another inspired performance at the Pala Alpitour to earn their 36th tour-level win of the season together.

In a high-quality match that twisted one way and then the other, the second seeds produced their best level at crucial times. Ram crushed backhand winners down the line on return, while Salisbury showed great touch to flick an array of winners from all angles throughout the one-hour, 39-minute semi-final.

“We are very happy to be through,” Salisbury said. “I feel we are pretty good at handling whatever any situation we are in. It was tough not closing it out more straightforward in the [first set] tie-break, but we fought hard and got it done eventually. We then stayed focused and played pretty smart and held onto our serve well. We are pretty happy with the performance.”

”It is something I have worked really hard on,” Ram said when asked about his returning. “It is huge to keep in games and matches and I think it is my most improved area, so I am happy it paid off today.”

The ATP has announced the launch of LOVE, a collection of stunning generative digital artworks created in collaboration with Art Blocks Engine and renowned artist Martin Grasser.

On sale from 6 December, the limited collection of NFTs will introduce new ways for fans to celebrate, admire and own impactful moments from the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. As a first-of-its kind generative art project in tennis, LOVE will capture official in-match data from the ATP Tour’s season finale to generate unique and iconic works of digital art.

Test outputs generated from 2021 Nitto ATP Finals match data.
The creative force behind LOVE is Martin Grasser, a leading artist and designer based in the Bay Area, supported by leading generative art house, ARTXCODE. Each piece of artwork tells the story of a winning play from the singles event in Turin, Italy, brought to life as a tennis ball striking a distinctively coloured court. The collection will include pieces of differing rarity including the Championship-Winning Point, Match-Winning Points, and Set-Winning Points, among other special editions.

In a world first, the project will generate artwork entirely from official tennis data, provided by Tennis Data Innovations. Shadows and court lines will indicate each ball’s location, velocity and direction of travel at the point of impact. Additional variables will be used to generate unexpected colours, texture and zoom, resulting in unique and beautiful collectibles for fans.

Martin Grasser: “Art is in everything—a newspaper, a letter, a swing in a tennis match. These ordinary objects and moments can be broken apart into simple components and built back up into more intricate languages.”

The doubles field has been halved after six days of play at the Nitto ATP Finals, with the four remaining teams set for semi-final Saturday in Turin.

In an afternoon-session meeting of the Top 2 teams in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski face Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in a rematch of the US Open final, won by Ram/Salisbury. The evening session at the Pala Alpitour will open with Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic taking on Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.

[1] Wesley Koolhof (NED) / Neal Skupski (GBR) vs. [2] Rajeev Ram (USA) / Joe Salisbury (GBR)

Koolhof/Skupski, who were honoured as the 2022 ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone on Thursday, finished second in the Green Group with a 2-1 record. After a win against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios in their opening match, a Friday win against Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek sealed their place in the semis. The Dutch-British pair is seeking its eighth ATP Tour title of the 2022 season.

Ram/Salisbury, who spent time as the World No. 1 doubles team this season before being overtaken by their semi-final opponents, were a perfect 3-0 in the Red Group. But the American-British pair still needed to win a set in their final round-robin match to clinch progress to the knockout rounds. In a tense match against Roland Garros champ Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, they claimed the set they required in a second-set tie-break before winning their second Match Tie-break of the week.

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Both Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev compiled 2-1 group-stage records to progress to Saturday's semi-finals in Turin. The lone loss for each man at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals came against one of the game's all-time greats: Ruud fell to Rafael Nadal while Rublev was turned back by Novak Djokovic.

Norway's Ruud was already through to the semis when he came up against Rafa, his wins against Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz enough to clinch first place in the Green Group. Those two victories matched his win total across four events after the US Open.

"I didn't imagine that I would be in that position after two matches, but luckily I was," a recharged Ruud said of his early qualification for the knockout rounds. 

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As such, he was able to conserve some energy on Thursday against Nadal at the tail-end of a gruelling season: "I just tried to keep my flow going, [made sure] that I had a good rhythm... not risking too much in terms of my body and the physical aspects of the match."

Novak Djokovic put forth a Herculean effort to finish his Nitto ATP Finals group campaign at 3-0, battling Daniil Medvedev for more than three hours on Friday with his place in the knockout rounds already secured. Roughy 21 hours after a forehand winner punctuated his victory, the first serve will be struck in the Serbian's semi-final against Taylor Fritz in Turin.

Djokovic takes a 5-0 ATP Head2Head record against the American into the contest, their most recent meeting coming one year ago at the Rolex Paris Masters. Will the 35-year-old be able to recover in time to extend his two winning streaks?

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"Well, I'm not the freshest guy right now, as I was maybe yesterday," Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. But he won't be wasting any of his precious energy worrying about his reserves.

"On the physical side, I'm not worried because worry just depletes you of the vital energy you need," he continued. "I've had many cases in my life before where I managed to recover very quickly. Hopefully that's going to be the case again."

Stefanos Tsitsipas flew out of the gate in a winner-takes-all Red Group finale agains Andrey Rublev on Friday at the Nitto ATP Finals. But after a flawless opening set, the Greek lost his way as Rublev roared into the Turin semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.

While Tsitsipas was quick to credit his opponent — "Things were coming off the racquet pretty good from his side," he said of Rublev — the second seed also rued his missed opportunity in a match he felt was his for the taking.

"It's a shame," he said in his post-match press conference. "I feel like the better player. I felt like I could do more with the ball today. I felt like I could just be much more creative. I don't even have to say that. I think it's quite obvious.

"But, yeah, he prevailed with the few tools that he has. He was able to really take advantage of them and win today."

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While Rublev showed his frustration at the start of the second set, it was the Greek who was left flustered late, his ground game deserting him in the final set. His unraveling was completed by consecutive double faults which handed Rublev a double-break lead for 5-2 in the decider.

Andrey Rublev fired up his forehand to forge an exhilarating turnaround against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday night in Turin, where the sixth seed clinched a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win to reach the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals.

In a winner-takes-all match to decide the second-place finisher in Red Group, Rublev withstood an early barrage from Tsitsipas to claim a milestone victory at the prestigious season finale. Although the Greek’s bright start had his opponent under pressure at the Pala Alpitour, Rublev continued to hit through his groundstrokes throughout the match to seal his 51st tour-level win of the season.

"I didn't give up. I kept fighting and playing," Rublev said. "I lost my emotions a bit when I lost a stupid game at 40/0 in the first set. I let my emotions go. But then I just kept fighting and playing and you will have chances. I thought I would have chances if I just gave my best. I managed to turn the match around and I am happy to be in the semis."

The Marseille, Dubai, Belgrade and Gijon champion Rublev had lost his two prior ATP Head2Head clashes with Tsitsipas in 2022. Yet he displayed admirable resilience at key moments on Friday night in Turin, crashing 36 winners to seal a high-quality one-hour, 42-minute victory .

The 25-year-old Rublev, who had not progressed from the group stage in his two previous Nitto ATP Finals appearances, will meet third seed Casper Ruud in Saturday’s semi-finals.

With the 2022 season reaching its climax this week at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, the ATP Tour took the opportunity to honour some of its recently retired stars with a special ceremony on Friday at the prestigious season finale.

Those whose stellar achievements were recognised included former Top 10 French stars Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon. The 14-time tour-level titlist Simon played his last professional tournament in November at the Rolex Paris Masters, and he was pleased to be in attendance on an emotional night in Italy.

“It’s an honour to be here,” Simon told ATPTour.com. “I have been part of this Tour for more than 20 years now. I had the chance to play the Masters (now the Nitto ATP Finals). It was not here but in Shanghai [in 2008]. I had the chance to play this fantastic event once in my life and I’m really happy to come and have this ceremony here. It’s really a great feeling.”

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Joining Tsonga and Simon on court was another former Top 10 player, Tommy Robredo. The Spaniard won 12 tour-level titles and reached a career-high No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2006.

With his progress from the Red Group already secured at the Nitto ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic could have taken it easy in his round-robin finale against Daniil Medvedev on Friday. But rather than look ahead to the semis, the Serbian showcased his champion mentality to win a gruelling three-hour battle and extend his perfect record to 3-0 on the week with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) result.

But will his exertions — which left him visibly shaking as he sucked wind during changeovers — leave him spent for Saturday's elimination match against Taylor Fritz? Has he pushed his body beyond its limits?

"I don't think that a limit exists," Djokovic said. "It's really in your head. It's really about perspective and approach and your perception of how you see things in that given moment.

"Of course, when you're going through physical struggles, it affects the game, it affects how you feel mentally, it affects your body language. Of course, the opponent likes seeing you down, and he's trying to dominate in the rallies, he's trying to get the upper hand of the match, which was kind of the situation that was happening today.

"But I think the biggest battle, as I've said before, is always the inner battle. If you manage to find yourself in that optimal state of mind and body as often as you possibly can, I feel you can extract the best and reap the best results for yourself in every moment, every point, every match."

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic entered their final round-robin match on Friday with their semi-final spot already secured at the Nitto ATP Finals.

However, the Croatians still had a major role to play in the final Green Group standings, with their 7-6(4), 7-6(4) victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios ensuring top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski joined the Croatians in the knockout stages.

Kokkinakis and Kyrgios held a 1-1 round-robin record heading into the clash, needing a win to reach the last four on debut in Turin. In a hard-fought clash, the Australians produced a strong serving performance, firing 17 aces and winning 90 per cent (46/51) of points behind their first delivery.

Mektic and Pavic are a tough team to crack, though, and they proved why during the 90-minute match, raising their level in both tie-breaks to finish the round-robin stage holding a perfect 3-0 record.

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Daniil Medvedev leaves the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals with a slice of history, but perhaps not the kind he wants to remember.

The World No. 5 fell short in three deciding-set tiebreaks this week, including two where he served for the match, against Stefanos Tsitsipas (Wednesday) and Novak Djokovic on Friday, when Medvedev lost a three hour, 11 minute marathon.

“It's a disaster,” Medvedev said in his post-match press conference. “What I'm really happy is that this match didn't count in going out of the group, otherwise I would have two matches where I lost serving for the match. At least this one didn't count. I'm going to try to be better next time. I have no other choice.”

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Medvedev entered Friday’s match having already been eliminated from title contention, but the 26-year-old fought until the bitter end. The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion even served for the match at 5-4 in the final set, letting slip a golden opportunity to hand Djokovic his first loss of the week.

Novak Djokovic survived a lung-busting three-set marathon match with Daniil Medvedev Friday to keep alive his chances of emerging as an undefeated champion at the Nitto ATP Finals and walking away from Turin with the largest payday in tennis history.

Despite having already qualified for the semi-finals, the Serbian pushed himself to his limits against Medvedev, prevailing 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) to top Red Group with a 3-0 record, handing the 2020 champion a third straight third-set tie-break loss at the event.

Djokovic is aiming to create more history this week and tie Roger Federer's record six triumphs at the prestigious year-end event. The Serbian, who last lifted the title at the tournament in 2015, will take home $4,740,300 if he wins the trophy undefeated in Turin.

“This match against one of the greatest rivals I have today is very important, regardless of the fact that I had qualified already,” said Djokovic after his three-hour, 11-minute victory. “I really wanted to win.

"Daniil and I have had some battles in the past and I knew coming into the match today that it was going to be his last match of the season and he wouldn't want to finish with a loss. I started off very well. [I] had chances in the second [set], had some break points but he played very well in those decisive points. He was playing really quick. I didn't fell physically well in the third set, struggled a lot. It is a battle and it is a fight.

As he prepares to take on Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday for a semi-final spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, Andrey Rublev tells ATPTour.com his preferences when it comes to all things Italian.

Would you rather visit the Colosseum or climb Mount Vesuvius?
(Climb Mount Vesuvius), because I already visited the Colosseum. It’s super nice. Obviously, I would love to visit inside [the Colosseum], because it has a huge history and is something unreal, but I never visited something like [Mount Vesuvius] so I would love to visit.

Would you prefer to attend a Serie A football match or watch the historic Italian Grand Prix at Monza?
I have been to an Italian football match, but I have never been to Formula 1. Therefore, I would probably choose Formula 1.

The Godfather or The Italian Job?
The Godfather.

Espresso or Cappuccino?
Cappuccino.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski delivered a Match Tie-break masterclass on Friday at the Nitto ATP Finals, where the top seeds completed a 7-5, 4-6, 10-6 victory against Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek to boost their semi-final qualification hopes.

Both teams entered the contest with the possibility of progressing from Green Group, but it was the Dutch-British duo of Koolhof and Skupski that dominated the decider after two tight sets at the Pala Alpitour. It stormed to an 8/1 lead that proved unassailable, clinching a one-hour, 41-minute victory.

Despite Friday’s win, Koolhof and Skupski must wait to find out whether they have qualified for the semi-finals. Should Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios defeat the already-qualified Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in Friday's night session in Turin, the Australian pair would go through at Koolhof and Skupski's expense.

“We are going to watch the match,” Skupski said. “Maybe here or at the hotel. If Mektic and Pavic win, we will have a semi-final tomorrow and we will need to rest up. We will have our Croatian flags waving in our hotel room and hopefully they can do the job for us.”

It was Koolhof and Skupski's second meeting with Dodig and Krajicek in the space of two weeks, after the pairs met in the championship match at the Rolex Paris Masters. Just as they had in France, it was Koolhof and Skupski who prevailed as they kept alive their chances of becoming the first top-seeded pair to triumph at the prestigious season finale since Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in 2014.

The final day of round-robin play at the Nitto ATP Finals will see a winner-takes-all match in the singles Red Group, while three doubles teams vie for one remaining semi-final spot in the Green Group on Friday in Turin.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev will meet for the 11th time to determine which man advances to the singles semi-finals alongside Novak Djokovic, who will seek to stay perfect on the week when he takes on Daniil Medvedev.

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who have sealed their progress to the knockout rounds, face Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios in evening doubles action after top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski take on Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek to begin the day's play.

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